Radiator core



()Ct. 30, 1934. E SCHANK 1,978,604

RADIATOR CORE Filed Dec. 16, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet l H. E. SCHANK RADIATOR CORE Oct. 30, 1934.

Filed Dec. 16, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 3 m /ff Ji /n? 627M Oct. 30, 1934. E SCHANK 1,978,604

RADIATOR CORE Filed Dec. l6, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 "Himml- INVEN TOR.

A TTORNEY.

Oct. 30, 1934. H. E. SCHANK 1,978,604

RADIATOR CORE Filed Dec. 16, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 al ke: m1

Patented Oct 30, 1934 PATENT orrlcs 1,978,604 RADIATOR com:

Harry E. Schank, Detroit, Mich" assignmto McCordRadiator & Mfg. Company, Detroit,

Mich., a corporation of Maine I Application December 16, 1929, Serial No. 414,280

9 Claims.

This'invention relates to improvements in radiator cores and more particularly to cellular cores such as are used for automotive and other heat transferring purposesa Y 'Heretofore, in cores of this type, air turbulence has been brought about, tosome extent, by the use of spacer strips between the water conduits ofthe core, the spacer strips being either of the slit or bump provided character. Spacers of these types as heretofore made are objectionable when: in use in a core because they do not bring about the air turbulence required for the most efficient operation of the core. Moreover, these spacers, for the reasons to be hereinafter stated, are objectionable when assembling the core a the time of its manufacture.

The slit form of spacer is objectionable because cutting the metal and displacing it, renders the spacer structurally weak. Such strips are easily crushed and-bent in piling and handling preparatory to making a core and they can be easily distorted in the forming frame when clamping the, strips and water course plates or ribbons together when assembling the core. The frailness of such strips produces considerable scrap and makes their use expensive and objectionable. The projections, by reason of the sharp edges, also tend to entangle in piling the strips after theyare formed. The result is that the. strips are likely to become damaged and considerable scrap is produced as the strips are pulled apart or separated. for, insertion between the watercourse ribbons. Moreover, with the slitform of strip, it is necessary to place a predeterminedtension on the metal stock in running it through the forming rolls to eliminate, as much ,as possible, any variance in length of the strip as itleaves therolls. Any variance in length ,of the stripswill effect the proper nesting of the strips with the water course ribbons, and theoperatorin attemptingto bring the parts to proper registerwill on squeezing the parts, displace the projections-ofythe slit strips and so distort them that all cannot used.

.While the heretofore produced spacer strips with ithez zbosses .or bumps are structurally stronger and more rigid thantthe slit strips,,the bump provided strips, so made, are objectionable becausethe bumps-1 being confined between the crowns ofthe corrugations of the strips must be relativelysmall so/as not to decrease and choke the air passages :or airycellsprovided in the core by the-strips. .The bumps Ebeing between the edges. of; the crowns cannot'be utilized to guide 55 and 1 center the strips and, the water :course ribbons or plates when assembling the core nor be used to interlock the plates and strips to pre vent endwise displacement when the parts are clamped together in the forming frame. Moreover, in these strips the crowns 0f the corrugations where they contact have relatively sharp edges and the strips being structurally week at these points are easily bent when placed under. pressure in the forming frame. The bumps or bosses play no part in resisting thispressure and the strips often collapse or become displaced, which requires either a straightening operation on the core after being put together, or a complete discarding of the imperfect strip.

In accordance with my invention, I provide the bumps or bosses in the inclined portions of the corrugated or zigzag portions of the strips in such a manner that the bumps project beyond the points of contact of the strips with each other and with the water course plates, and serve as centering and guiding means for the plates and strips on being assembled to make a core. The bumps also engage the water course plates on opposite sides of the crowns or apices thereof, not only to interlock the plates and strips, but also to hold them from displacement when clamped together in the holding frame. The crowns or apices of the corrugations between the bumps are also flattened and made relatively wide so as toprovide large metal to metal contact between them, not only for more effective heat transfer purposes, but also to resist strains which tend to distort or bend the strips and the plates. With a large metalto metal contact area, the strips and the plates can be tightly clamped together to reduce the amount of solder required to connect them when the core is dipped.

' The metal forming the bumps takes in not only the corrugated or inclined portions of the strips, but is displacedout of theapices of the strips along their lines of contact. This permits the bumps to be made relatively large soas to extend into the air passages or cells a suflicient distance to bring about a most effective degree of air turbulence, thereby insuring a high transfer of heat from the strips to the air. v

In forming the bumps in this manner, the ends of the bumps wave or corrugate the flat contacting portions along the crowns of strips and thus reinforce the contacting portions and render them more resistant to bending or distortion.

The bumps or bosses are alternately arranged on opposite sides of .the strips along the crowns thereof andextending into the air passagesor cells give undulating form thereto from front to rear of the core to bring about extreme air turbulence and thus dissipate the heat more effectively than heretofore. The bosses being large increase the metal surface exposed in the air and also prolong the travel of the air through the core. The passages or cells are not choked or restricted by having the bumps relatively large,

because the bumps on one strip are opposite the depressions formed by the bumps on the other strip, and thus the cross sectional area of the portions of the passages at each opposed bump and depression may be maintained substantially the same throughout the passage from front to rear of the core. With each passage so made the air may flow freely through the core without undue restriction thereby permitting a rapid flow of air and an increased efficiency for the core.

In having the metal forming the bumps take in portions of crowns of the strips, sufficient clearance is provided for the rolls in making the bumps because the angle between the bumps is practical for a rolling operation.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front view of an automotive radiator having a core constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged front elevational view of a portion of the core, parts being shown in section for illustrative purposes;

Fig. 3 is a face view of the core to show the manner of folding the spacer strips and water course plates;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of one of the spacer strips taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of one of the spacer strips looking at the outer face thereof;

Figs. 7 and 8 are perspective views of the spacer strip, showing the front and rear faces thereof respectively;

Fig. 9 is a plan view of one of the water course plates; and

Fig. 10 is a sectional view taken on lme 10-10 of Fig. 2.

As shown in the drawings, the core structure containing the embodiment of my invention comprises a plurality of water conduits 1, 1 and interposed spacer strips 2, 2, both extending from top to bottom of the core when the latter is employed in an automotive radiator. The water conduits have their upper and lower ends connected to and opening into tanks or manifolds 3, 4 at the top and bottom of the core, as usual in automotive radiator design. This is illustrated in Fig. 1, which also shows the outer shell or casing in which the assembled core and tanks are mounted and secured.

'Each water conduit 1 is formed of a pair of zigzag outer plates 5, 6 of thin gauge sheet metal, such as copper or brass with each plate having a width to extend from front to rear of the core, as shown in Fig. 4. The longitudinal margins 'I, 7 of the plates are off-set inwardly from the body portions of the plates so that when the plates are assembled or placed together with the corrugations of one plate nesting in the corrugations of the other plate, the off-set margins are in contact, and space apart the body portions of the plates to form the water courses or channels 1 between them, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4.

The spacer strips 2 are also made of thin gauge sheet metal, such as copper or brass, and each strip has a width to extend from front to rear of the core as shown in Fig. 4. Each strip 2 is corrugated to give it zigzag form similar to the water conduit plates 5, 6, and when a pair of strips are arranged between each two adjacent conduits, the crowns of the corrugations on the outer faces of each strip 2 will abut against the corresponding crowns of the corrugations on the outer face of the adjacent water conduit plate. The crowns of the corrugations on the irmer faces of the strips 2 also abut to keep the water conduits in spaced relation and provide the air cells or air passages a, a which extend through the core from front to rear thereof.

The longitudinal margins 8, 8 of the strips 2 are offset outwardly from the body portions of the strips to substantially the same extent as the offsetting of the margins of the water conduit plates 5, 6 so that the plates and strips, when nested, will have substantially continuous contact from front to rear of the core as indicated at b, b in Fig. 4. This provides a metal to metal contact between the plates and the strips throughout the entire depth of the core and aids in the effective transfer of heat from the plates to the strips. The contacting portions of the plates and the strips at b are made relatively wide and flat (see Fig. 2) to secure the largest possible extent of metal to metal contact between them and also to provide relatively wide bearing surfaces to prevent crushing of the core when squeezing the plates and the strips together in the forming frame preparatory to dipping the edges of the assembled strips and plates in molten solder to secure them together. With wide contact surfaces, any slight shifting of the plates and the strips with respect to each other on being clamped, due to their flexibility or any difference in length between the strips and plates, will still retain the metal to metal contact between them because the widths of the contacting surfaces are such that ample allowance is made for any possible degree of shifting. Thus, there is no likelihood of the contacting surfaces of the strips and the plates slipping off of each other to spoil the core as frequently occurs when sharp edges are depended upon to form the line of contact as in cellular cores as heretofore generally manufactured. The wide bearing surfaces b also provide a relatively large metal to metal contact area which gives added strength to the core when soldered. The wide surfaces 1) also permit the 125. plates and strips to be pressed tightly together so that the strength of the core is not solely dependent on the solder connection, as excessive solder is eliminated in the joints by the tightness with which they can be pressed together.

Each strip 2 is provided with a multiplicity of bosses or bumps 9, 9 distributed thereover and extendinginto the air passages or cells a which are formed between the plates and the strips. The bosses or bumps 9 are pressed out of the inclined portions 10 of the strips between the offset margins 8 thereof and are arranged in alternation on opposite sides of the lines of contact of the strips with the plates and of the strips with each other as shown in Figs. 6 to 8. The bosses 9 extend entirely acrossthe inclined portions 10 in which they are formed and include portions of the metal of the strips at the flat contact hearing surfaces thereof. This causes the ends of the bosses 9 to project or extend beyond said surfaces and provide locating or guiding and centering means for the strips and the plates to hold the same against endwise or longitudinal displacement while being assembled, as shown in Fig. 2. This is an advantage when assembling the The bumps or bosses 9 on the outer faces of v 'plates and the strips to make a core because the.

parts cannot be shifted out of their proper interand clamped together on a level surface.

the strips 2 have their outer ends overlapping the inclinedportions 11 of the adjacent water conduit plates on opposite sides of the lines of contact b between said plates and strips as shown in Fig. 2. This effectively resists the pressure applied to bring the plates and the strips into tight contact preparatory to soldering and prevents collapsing or bending of the plates under the clamping pressure. The bumps or bosses at each line of contact b of a strip with a plate do not merge one into the other, but are slightly spaced apart by the body portion of the strip between them as shown at 12, 12 in Figs. 7 and 8. These portions 12 have the full width as provided for the line of contact b and thus maintain a full bearing for the strip with the plate between the bosses. The crowns of the corrugations of the plates where they contact with the strips between the offset margins thereof are made fiat and as wide, or substantially as wide, as the portions 12 of the strips so that the fullest extent of the contacting surfaces are utilized to give strength and rigidity to the core and secure the most efficient delivery of heat from the plates to the strips. At the offset margins of the plates and the strips, the contacting surfacesare not nearly as wide as elsewhere. This permits the extent of the offsettingto be kept relatively shallow, avoiding undue stretching of the metal in making the offsets, and thus eliminating the possibility of cracking to spoil the strips and the plates.

The bumps or bosses which lie on the inner face of one strip are opposite the depressions or cavities formed in the inner face of the adjacent strip by the bumps or bosses on the outer face of such strip. This arrangement causes the ends of the bosses where they extend outward beyond the lines of contact between the strips to lie one above the other and out of contact when the strips are properly nested. (See Fig. 2.) The ends of the bosses are, however, in the path of movement of each other when the plates are shifted lengthwise, and thus prevent displacement of the plates on being assembled in a core. The side edges of the bosses and their receiving depressions are slightly inclined or rounded (Figs. '7 and 8) in a direction transverse of the core so as tocenter and align the strips as they are pressed together on being assembled.

The ends of the bosses just referred to, are curved out of the lines of contact of the strips with each other and being alternately disposed on opposite sides of such lines, give a corrugated or undulating effect thereto (Figs. '7 and 8). and materially reinforce the same against bending. This is also accomplished for the lines of contact of the strips with the plates by having the depressions made by the bosses on the inner faces of the strips extend out of the lines of contact as shown in Figs. 7 and 8. This gives each line a corrugated effect and causes it to resist bending much more effectively than if a straight line of metal is used.

On the inner faces of the strips, the lines of contact are between the bosses at 13, 13 and at the margins of the strips (see Fig. 7). With vthe outer ends of the bosses on the inner faces of strips out of contact, air gaps are provided at the bosses and the molten solder used to secure the strips and the plates together will not ex-- tend beyond the joints at the offset edges, as indicated in Fig. 10. This avoids the use of excessive solder, saving in that material and also lessening the weight of the finished core.

With. the bosses or bumps offset from the lines of contact, part of the metal of the strips at the points of contact may be used to formthe ends of the bumps. This not only allows the ends of the bumps to extend over the contacting points to serve as the locating and interlocking means, but it also allows the bumps to be made relatively large by being extended entirely across and beyond the inclined portions of the strips in which the bumps are formed. Large bumps add considerably more heat radiating surface to the air cells or passages than do the small bumps as heretofore employed, which bumps utilize only the inclined portions of the strips. Large bumps extending as described also increase the length of the distance that the air must travel to pass through the core. The bumps on the inner face of one strip being opposite the depressions in the inner face of the other strip, give an undulating shape to the air cells or passages. This creates considerable turbulence in the air currents as they pass through the core by causing the air to be deflected and turned over in passing from bump to depression and so on through the entire length of the passage. The extreme turbulence thus brought about sweeps the surfaces of the plates and strips of any films of dead air which would tend to insulate them and thus the live air reaches the heated metal and effectively carries away the heat. The large bumps or bosses do not restrict or choke the air passages because of the arrangement of the bosses opposite the depressions as heretofore stated. This arrangement also permits the cross-section of the passage to be maintained uniform throughout the depth of the core. It will be noted that the inner ends of the bosses, that is, the ends of the bosses on the inner sides of the strips, are formed by displacing the material of the strips out of the lines of contact of the strips with each other. This enables the bosses to be made relatively large for the purpose heretofore stated. The inner ends of the bosses on the adjacent inclined portions of the strip merge when the bosses are disposed in the alignment shown in the drawings. Moreover, the bosses are separated along the length of the inclined portions of the strips, that is, from front to rear of the core by the normal parts of said inclined por-- tions, whereby the strips contact only on opposite sides of the bosses. By the arrangement shown and described, the bosses provide cavities along the lines of contact of the strips with each other, whereby the strips contact only on opposite sides of the bosses. This arrangement permits the entry of the inner ends of the bosses on one strip into the depressions formed at the inner ends of the bosses of the matching strip.

In actual radiator production, the Water conduit plates on opposite sides of each pair of spacer strips are made from a single length of metal ribbon or stock. This is bent or folded transversely on itself midway of its ends with the fold in the metal 0, (Fig. 3) at one end of the unit and with the free ends d, d overlapped and soldered together at the opposite end of the unit. The spacer strips may be made in the same way, or they may be cut to the length required to fit between the foldably connected plates.

the strips.

When each pair of strips is made from a single length of ribbon stock, the latter is folded transversely on itself intermediate its ends to provide The fold in the ribbon is at one end of the strips, where they are integrally connected, and the free ends of the ribbon are at the opposite ends of the strips, as indicated at e and f, 1 respectively in Fig. 3. The foldably connected strips and the foldably connected plates between which the strips are located, constltute a section or unit of the radiator core. The latter, when the assembly of the units comprising the same is completed, has its edges dipped into molten solder for securing the units and the parts thereof together.

The rounded bosses or bumps 9 are made by rolling at the same time that the corrugations are formed in the metal ribbon stock. The bosses being offset to one side of the lines of contact may be rolled because the angle between them may be kept within the limits required for the die of the rolls to clear the bosses as they are formed. Moreover, with the bosses extending across and beyond the line of contact, the dies may reach to the bottoms of the corrugations and have sufficient clearance as the rolls revolve.

The core structure of my invention is strong and rigid. It has efiicient heat dissipating properties and is easy to make and assemble. The strips and plates by reason of the bosses are selfcentering and aligning and the strips are structurally strong, as heretofore pointed out. As shown in Figs. 6, 7 and 8, the bumps or bosses 9 are in closely spaced relation along the in clined portions of the strips 2 from front to rear of the core, being separated by the intervening portions 14 of said strips. The separating portion 14 at one side of each boss is no greater in width than the width of the adjacent boss. By this arrangement, the maximum number of bosses may be provided on the inclined portions of the strips from front to rear of the core. This close spacing of the bosses not only provides for an effective interlock and brace for the core structure when assembled but also provides the greatest number of bosses in each air passage. The result of this is that the air in its passage through the core is brought into frequent contact with the bosses which in being relatively large turn the air over with suflicient rapidity and frequence to create a. whirl which brings the colder portions of the air into contact with the heated metal. The turbulence so created not only carries ofi the radiated heat but scrubs the metal surfaces of any heat films which may tend to cling thereto. This produces efficient and eifective cooling and greatly increases heat dissipating capacity of the core per pound of metal employed.

The details of structure shown and described may be variously changed and modified without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a radiator core, a plurality of water conduits, each formed of a pair of interfitting corrugated outer plates, corrugated spacer strips between the water conduits, said strips being in contact with each other and with the outer plates of the adjacent water conduits along .the crowns of the corrugations of the strips and the plates, and bosses pressed out of the spacer strips between the crowns thereof and projecting beyond the same to provide centering and guiding means plate extending into the depressions provided by the bosses on the other plate to avoid undue restriction of the air passages through the core.

2. In a radiator core, a plurality of water conduits, each formed of a pair of interfitting zigzag outer plates, a plurality of zig-zag spacer strips between each pair of water conduits, said strips and plates being in contact at the apices thereof, the inclined portions of the strips and the plates defining the air passages of the core, andbosses pressed out of the inclined portions of the strips on opposite sides thereof into said air passages, said bosses extending across the inclined portions of the strips for substantially the full width thereof and projecting beyond the points of contact of the strips with the plates and of the strips with each other to interlock the strips and the plates together when assembled by having the ends of the bosses at the plates engage the inclined portions of the opposed plates and the ends of the bosses at the strips in interfitting relation.

3. A section for a radiator core, comprising a pair of zig-zag outer plates forming walls of the water conduits on opposite sides of the section, a pair of zig-zag spacer strips between said outer plates, said strips and plates being in contact at the apices thereof, the inclined portions of the strips and the plates defining the air passages of the section, and bosses pressed out of the inclined portions of the strips into said air passages with the ends of the bosses at the strips formed by the displacement of the material of the strips out of and transverse to the lines of contact of the strips with each other to provide relatively large bosses, the latter being in closely spaced relation along the inclined portions of the strips from front to rear of the core with the portions of the strips separating the bosses on one side of each boss no greater in width than the width of the adjacent boss.

4. In a radiator core, a plurality of water conduits, each formed of a pair of interfitting zigzag outer plates, zig-zag spacer strips between the water conduits, said strips and plates being in contact at the apices thereof, the inclined portions of the strips and the plates defining the air passages of the core, and bosses pressed out of the inclined portions of the strips into said air passages, said bosses extending transversely of the inclined portions of the strips for substantially the full width thereof and being closely spaced along the strips from front to rear of the core to give turbulence to the air and cause it to have a scrubbing action on the strips in its passage through the core, the bosses on one strip being opposite and extending into the depressions formed by the bosses on the adjacent strip to avoid undue restriction to the flow of the air through the air passages of the core.

5. In a radiator core, zig-zag plates forming the water passages for the core, zig-zag strips between the water passages and cooperating with the plates to form the air passages for the core, bosses pressed out of the strips into said air passages, said bosses being relatively large and arranged in closely spaced relation along the air passages from front to rear of the core to give whirling motions to the air in its flow through said passages and cause the air to have a scrubbing action on the strips and plates defining the air passages, the bosses in each air passage being disposed opposite and extending into the depressions formed by the bosses in the adjacent air passages to avoid undue restriction to the flow of the air through said passages.

6. A radiator core spacer plate including a convoluted metal sheet having spaced portions of the vertices of selected convolutions translated in opposite directions into protruding relationship with respect to the sides of said convolutions and having depressions in the sides of said convolutions, one opposite from each protruding portion and registering with the latter.

7. A radiator core spacer plate including a convoluted metal sheet having spaced closed portions of the vertex of a convolution thereof translated into protruding relationship with respect to one side of said convolution and having depressed portions protruding from the other side of said convolution, and registering with the translated portions of said vertex.

8. In a radiator core structure, a pair of adjacent convoluted spacer plates having contacting vertices and having air passages between registering convolutions and adjacent the outer sides thereof respectively, alternate portions of the contacting vertices being translated in oppo- ,the translated portions of said vertices and protruding into the air passages adjacent the outer sides of said plates for producing turbulence in the air currents flowing therethrough.

9. A radiator core spacer plate, comprising a convoluted metal sheet having inclined walls joining the vertices of the plate, spaced closed portions of said walls including the adjacent portions of the vertices on one face of the plate translated in opposite directions into protruding relationship with respect to said walls to provide projections and depressions on opposite sides of the walls, the projections and depressions on each wall occupying the greater portion of the width of the wall and disposed in closely spaced relation along the wall from the front to the rear margins of the plate to provide substantially continuous undulating surfaces on opposite sides of the wall.

HARRY E. SCI-IANK. 

